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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “inappropriate”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “inappropriate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

S

Ranked above its merit

Safe Report Comments shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack VideoPress 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #1 2 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 JSM Non-Breaking Space (nbsp) for French Content 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 Zeno Report Comments 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Popup Maker – Responsive popup, Exit Intent Pop up, Email Optins, Autoresponder & More 7K+ · 4.5★ (144) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Block, Suspend, Report for BuddyPress 500+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 PowerBI Embed Reports 500+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Member Reviews 200+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Ultimate Reviews 400+ · 4.1★ (60) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 S Safe Report Comments 100+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Some Plus Report Post 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Reviewbird Product Reviews for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Mass Ping Tool for SEO – WordPress ping list to get indexed faster on Google, Yandex, … 400+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 Flockler – Social Media Embeds for WordPress 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Bit Connect – Community, Discussion Forum, Feedback & Roadmap 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 WhatAvatar – Custom Avatar Builder for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 AssistKit – Site Optimizer Toolkit 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Noncensible 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓4 3 too low 21 CommVatar – Custom Avatars, Captcha & Comment Socialiser — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Zeno Report Post 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 CBX Multi Criteria Rating & Review 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 CBX 5 Star Rating & Review 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.